Furnace enclosure



1966 E. A. FERNSTEN ETAL 3,280,815

FURNACE ENCLOSURE Filed May 13, 1965 ENTOR. 1 J ERNEsTAFERA/STEN BY APGYLE LFERNSTEN I9 42 gawk M J A ORNEYS United States Patent 3,280,815 FURNACE ENCLOSURE Ernest A. Fernsten, Moraga, Calif. (809 50th Ave., Oakland, Calif.), and Argyle L. Fernsten, 809 50th Ave., Oakland, Calif.

Filed May 13, 1965, Ser. No. 455,458 6 Claims. (Cl. 126114) The present invention relates generally to gas-fired furnace units and is more particularly directed to an enclosure for such furnace units.

Floor mounted furnace units of conventional design are frequently adapted for installation in a closet, or the like. However, in various buildings such as schools, there is no closet, or equivalent enclosure, within which the furnace unit may :be suitably housed. In such situations, it has frequently been the practice to install the furnace unit in a location where the air ducts, fiues, and heated surfaces, as well as the controls, are exposed in the room being heated. This i disadvantageous, particularly where children are involved, such as in a classroom, since the furnace can be readily tampered with by the children, and in addition, the exposed furnace and parts aforesaid are unsightly and constitute a hazard in that adults, children, and pets can touch the furnace and be burned.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a housing or enclosure for a furnace, which will include as a part thereof all of the ducts, flues, etc., necessary for connection or association with the furnace to provide for the proper operation and functioning thereof.

Another .object of the invention is the provision of a furnace enclosure which in effect isolates the furnace from the room to be heated so that the furnace cannot be tampered with or contacted by the occupants of the room.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an enclosure of the character described generally preventing access to the furnace having panels which may be removed to facilitate authorized access to the furnace unit for purpose of repair, maintenance, and the like.

It is another object of the invention to provide a furnace enclosure having room air and outside fresh air intakes which are adjustable to facilitate mixing of intake air from the respective sources in adjustable proportions for heating and subsequent delivery to the room.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a furnace enclosure of the class described which is readily adaptable to the intake of fresh air for supporting combustion at the furnace burner, irrespective of whether or not the enclosure is adjacent an outside wall of the room.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an enclosure of the class described wherein the combustion air and room air systems are mutually isolated.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an enclosure of the class described which may be readily provided as a prefabricated unit.

One other object of the invention is to provide a furnace enclosure which in effect forms a room for a furnace which is completely separated from the room to be heated, and which is designed so as to present the appearance of a wall section of the room to be heated.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the show ing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a furnace enclosure in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the enclosure with access panels thereof removed, and with portions broken away. '2

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken at line 33 of FIGURE '2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken at line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view of the parts shown in FIGURE 2, but depicting a modified form of outside air intake.

Referring now to the drawing, there will be seen to be illustrated a furnace enclosure 11 for use with a conventional gas fired furnace unit 12 to provide a protective tamper-proof room or closet housing the furnace unit. The enclosure is arranged for cooperation with the furnace for insuring efiicient operation thereof and of the heating of the room for which the enclosure and furnace are utilized. Within the furnace enclosure 11 are three separate air chambers, these being a cold air chamber for furnishing air to be heated by the furnace, a hot air chamber for receiving heated air from the furnace and delivering it to the room to be heated, and a combustion air chamber for supplying combustion air to the furnace. More particularly, the enclosure as shown includes a main body portion 13' defined by right angularly related side walls 14, 16, '17, 18 of sheet metal or the like, rigidly secured together at the lower and upper ends as by means of rectangular bottom and top plates 19 and 2-1 respectively. The enclosure also includes an upper closure portion 22 which extends over and covers the space from the top of the main body portion to the ceiling structure 23 of a room in which the enclosure is installed. In this manner, the main body portion 13 including internal structure subsequently described may be provided as a prefabricated unit for direct installation in any room. The upper body portion 22 is then the only part of the enclosure which need be custom made to fit the unit to the dimensions and geometry of a particular room. Thus, the two body portions combine to form a unitary enclosure extending from floor to ceiling.

Within the lower portion of the main body portion 13 of the enclosure, there is provided a horizontal partition 24 which is spaced above the bottom plate 19 and forms a support on which the furnace is mounted. Below the furnace in the space between partition 24 and plate 19 is formed a cold air chamber 26 into which external fresh air and air from the room being heated is admitted as hereinafter explained. Above the furnace and below the partition 21 is a hot air or plenum chamber 28, the top of which is defined by a horizontal plate 29 while the bottom is, in the present instance, formed by the top wall 31 of the furnace. Sides of the chamber 28 are formed by vertical walls 32, 33 and 34 preferably formed as a part of the enclosure and positioned opposite walls 14, 16 and 18 thereof respectively. The outer wall 35 of chamber 28 is provided as a part of the wall 17 of the enclosure. Walls 16 and 17 of the .ally movable in parallel relationship as units.

enclosure are spaced from and out of contact with the opposing side walls of the furnace.

Between top plate 21 and the furnace supporting partition 24 is a vertical cold air passage or chamber 36 provided between wall 14 of the enclosure and a vertical wall 37 which in the present form of the invention comprises a side wall of the shell or housing of the furnace. As shown in FIGURE 2, an extension of chamber 36 may be formed by spacing wall 18 of the enclosure from the opposing wall of the furnace. It will thus be noted chamber 36 is L-shaped in cross-section. Fresh air is arranged to be introduced into chamber 36 from the atmosphere through means of upper and lower ducts 38 and 39 provided in the building or other Wall such as indicated at 41 against or adjacent which the wall 14 of the enclosure is positioned. The chamber 36 preferably extends for the full distance between support 24 and top plate 21, and to this end the walls 32 and 34 of the plenum chamber 28 are appropriately spaced from the opposing walls of the enclosure.

Preferably, as shown in FIGURE 1, lower duct 39 is sufficiently extensive vertically as to permit air from the atmosphere to enter bottom chamber 26 through an opening 42 provided in the portion of enclosure wall 14 opposite same. Air from the room being heated is admitted to chamber 26 through opening 43 in the portion of wall 17 defining the front side of the chamber. Thus air from the atmosphere as well as return air from the heated room may be received in chamber 26. Air from such chamber is permitted to pass into the furnace through an opening 44 in partition 24 from whence it may be circulated around the heat exchange elements of the furnace and delivered to the plenum chamber 28 through an opening 45 in the top of the furnace. Discharge of the heated air from the plenum chamber into the room is by way of an opening 46 provided in the wall 17 and equipped with a register 47. Desirably a filter 48 is provided for the opening 44. As is well understood, the air is arranged to be drawn from chamber 26 and caused to circulate around the heat exchange elements and into and out of the plenum chamber, by means of the furnace blower.

Combustion or secondary air for the gas or other fuel being burned in the furnace is supplied from chamber 36 through a grill 49 provided in the furnace wall facing the wall 18 of the enclosure. Discharge of the products of combustion is through a flue pipe 51 extending from the combustion chamber or chambers of the furnace and outwardly from the enclosure and through the roof or the like of the building.

Openings 43 and 46, as well as the ducts 38 and 39, are preferably screened to prevent access to the interior of the enclosure. Register 47 includes "adjustable deflectors 52 to provide directional and volume control of the heated air delivered therethrough.

As previously noted, air is supplied to cold air chamber 26 from two sources, namely the outside atmosphere through vent 42 and the room through vent 43. In order to facilitate control over the relative proportions of air .admitted to the cold air chamber from the respective sources, an adjustable louvre system is provided to vary the amounts of air flow through openings 42 land 43. Preferably, the system includes a plurality of parallel vertical louvres 53 mounted within chamber 26 for rotation about vertical axes adjacent vent 43, and a similar plurality of louvres 54 rotatably mounted adjacent vent 42. Louvres 53 are ganged as by means of a bar 56, while louvres 54 are ganged as by means of a bar 57. The respective sets of louvres 53 and 54 are thus pivot- In addition, a cross arm 58 is secured between the bars 56 and 57 in a manner to permit relative lateral movement therebetween. The relative positions of the bars 56 and 57 in their connections to cross arm 58 is such that louvres 53 are oriented opposite to louvres 54. By virtue of the opposite orientations of the louvres, one set of louvres 53 is pivoted in one direction while the other set of louvres 54 is pivoted in the opposite direction in response to movement of cross arm 58. In this manner, when louvres 53 are pivoted towards a full open position, louvres 54 are pivoted towards a full closed position, and vice versa. Thus, the relative proportions of air entering the cold air chamber 26 through openings 42 and 43 is controlled by translation of the cross arm 58. A manually operable actuating mechanism may be employed for this purpose, or more preferably a remote controlled electrically operated mechanism 59 having, for example, an electrically movable plunger 61 secured to the arm 58.

In the overall operation of the enclosure arrangement of the present invention, air from the outside atmosphere enters chamber 36 through ducts 38 and 39 to support combustion of the flame at the gas burner elements of the furnace unit, while the products of combustion are exhausted to the outside atmosphere through flue 51. An appropriate mixture of outside air and return air from the room proportionately controlled by the positions of louvres 53 and 54, flows into the cold air chamber 26. The air from the latter chamber is sucked upwardly through the furnace around the heat exchange elements and delivered to the plenum chamber 28. The furnace blower also forces the heated air from the plenum chamber out into the room through the register 47.

If desired, the enclosure 11 may also be adapted to deliver refrigerated air to the room. This may be done by installing a cooling coil in the plenum chamber 28. A pair of apertures 62 may be provided in the side wall 32 to accommodate the opposite ends of such a cooling coil.

The furnace unit 12 requires periodic maintenance, adjustment, repair, etc. Accordingly, the enclosure 11 is arranged to permit convenient access to the interior thereof, while yet being tamperproof to children and the like. To these ends, side wall 18 is preferably formed by upper and lower panels 63 and 64 removably secured to the enclosure body structure as by means of screws, and a central panel 66 bridging the space between the upper and lower panels and secured to the structure by means of quick release latches 67, or the like. Provision may be made to lock the latches and thereby prevent unauthorized removal of the central panel. It will be thus appreciated that the central panel may be easily removed, by virtue of the quick release latches, to provide access to the furnace unit. The lower and upper panels may be removed upon removing the screws to alford access to the upper part of chamber 31 and to chamber 27 and the various components located therein. As will be seen from the drawings the wall 18 in which the removable panels are provided is positioned opposite the side of the furnace affording access to the interior of the furnace. The removable panels are also advantageous in that when they are removed they leave a large enough opening to permit the furnace, including the attachments, to be inserted into the enclosure and connected up, either before or after the enclosure is installed in position.

In some instances it is desirable to install the enclosure 11 at a location of the room which is not adjacent an outside wall. Under these circumstances, the combustion air chamber ducts 38 and 39 are dispensed with, and as shown in FIGURE 5, an inlet air duct 68 is employed to introduce air to the combustion air chamber 36. The duct 68 extends downward through the roof and room ceiling and upper plate 21 of the enclosure. The duct is formed with a pair of compartments or passages 71 and 72, which terminate adjacent the upper and lower ends respectively of chamber 36.

It will now be evident from the foregoing that a furnace enclosure is provided which may be prefabricated with or without the furnace and though separate of the furnace unit, contains all of the needed ducts and passages for supplying air for combustion and discharging of the products of combustion, and for supplying air to be circulated or cooled, by the furnace, and delivering the heated or cooled air where desired. Further, it will be evident that by reason of the fact that with the exception of the relatively remotely positioned heat outlet register 47, none of the enclosure surfaces exposed in the room being are in contact with the hot or heated parts of the furnace, there will be no danger or injury to any person who may come in contact with the enclosure while the furnace is burning. It will also be evident that the enclosure lends itself to being finished with the same decor as the room in which it is located. By so finishing the exposed walls including the molding, etc., the enclosure will tend to give the appearance of a room forming wall section.

What is claimed is:

1. A prefabricated furnace enclosure for housing a furnace unit separate from a room to be heated and providing the necessary ducts and chambers for proper operation of the furnace, said enclosure comprising a main peripheral wall portion including a plurality of right angularly related side walls and an upper peripheral portion extending from said main peripheral portion; a first one of said side Walls having an air inlet opening adjacent the lower end and an air outlet opening adjacent the upper end thereof; wall structure within said main peripheral Wall portion defining therein a cold air chamber, a plenum chamber, and a combustion air chamber, said cold air chamber being defined adjacent the lower end of said main peripheral wall portion and in communication with said air inlet opening and said plenum chamber being defined adjacent the upper end of said main peripheral wall portion and in communication with said air outlet opening, said combustion air chamber extending vertically of said main peripheral wall portion and being bounded on one side by a second of said side walls opposite said first side wall; said wall structure adapted for the mounting of a furnace unit vertically intermediate said cold air chamber and said plenum chamber with the heat exchange elements of the furnace in communication with both said cold air and plenum chambers and with the burner elements thereof in communication with said combustion air chamber; and means communicating with said combustion air chamber defining openings for admitting air thereto, said furnace enclosure being a housing structure which is independent of and separable from a furnace unit mounted therein.

2. A furnace enclosure according to claim 1, further defined by said means communicating with said combustion air chamber defining openings comprising first and second ducts in said second wall respectively communicating with the upper and lower ends of said combustion air chamber.

3. A furnace enclosure according to claim 1, further defined by a second air inlet opening in said second side Wall communicating with said cold air chamber, and adjustable louvre means within said cold air chamber adjacent said first and second air inlet openings for selectively controlling the relative proportions of air passing therethrough.

4. A furnace enclosure according to claim 1, further defined by a third of said side walls between said first and second side walls having a plurality of removable panels to afford access to the interior of said enclosure.

5. A prefabricated furnace enclosure for housing a furnace unit separate from a room to be heated and providing the necessary ducts and chambers for proper operation of the furnace, said enclosure comprising a main peripheral wall portion including a plurality of right angularly related vertical side walls; an upper peripheral portion extending upwardly from said main portion; wall structure within said main portion defining therein a cold air chamber adjacent the lower end thereof, a plenum chamber adjacent the upper end thereof, and a combustion air chamber of substantially L-shaped cross-section extending vertically of said main portion, said wall structure being adapted for the mounting of a furnace unit vertically intermediate said cold air chamber and said plenum chamber with the heat exchange and fan elements thereof communicating with both said cold air and plenum chambers and the burner elements thereof communicating with said combustion air chamber, an exhaust flue for said furnace and extending vertically upward therefrom through said combustion air chamber and upper peripheral portion; means defining air inlet and outlet openings in a first of said side walls and respectively communicating with said cold air and plenum chambers, means defining a second air inlet opening in a second of said side walls opposite said first side wall, said second inlet opening having separate portions respectively communicating with said cold air chamber and the lower end of said combustion air chamber, means defining a third air inlet opening in said second side wall communicating with the upper end of said combustion air chamber; and adjustable louvre means disposed within said cold air chamber adjacent said first and second air inlet openings for selectively controlling the relative proportions of air passing therethrough into said cold air chamber; said furnace enclosure being a housing structure which is independent of and separable from a furnace unit mounted therein.

6. A prefabricated furnace enclosure for housing a furnace unit separate from a room to be heated and providing the necessary ducts and chambers for proper operation of the furnace, said enclosure comprising a peripheral sheet wall portion defining the exterior walls of said enclosure; wall structure within said peripheral Wall portion providing a cold air chamber and a hot air plenum chamber at spaced locations within said peripheral wall portion, said wall structure being adapted for the mounting of a furnace unit within said peripheral wall portion between said cold air chamber and said plenum chamber with the heat exchange elements of the furnace in communication with both said cold air and plenum chambers; means defining a hot air outlet from said plenum chamber through said peripheral wall portion to a room to be heated; means defining a pair of air inlet openings into said cold air chamber; adjustable louver means within said cold air chamber adjacent said pair of inlet openings for selectively controlling the relative proportions of air passing therethrough; said wall structure and said peripheral sheet wall portion also defining a combustion air chamber adapted to be in communication with the burner elements of a furnace unit when such is mounted between said cold air chamber and said hot air plenum; means defining a combustion air opening through said peripheral wall portion into said combustion chamber; said furnace enclosure being a housing structure which is independent of and separable from a furnace unit mounted therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,927,869 9/1933 Downs 98-38 X 2,457,818 1/1949 Heiman 126-110 3,064,638 11/1962 Bauer 126-85 X 3,082,758 3/1963 Heiman 126-85 JAMES W. WESTHAVER, Primar Examiner. 

